Snow White and the Children of Misty Village
by Yoru95
Summary: Children gather 'round to hear the story of how children are Stolen away. Is it just a story though? . Snow White AU
1. Chapter 1

***We have all heard the story of Snow White - The beautiful, innocent girl who suffered at the hands of her stepmother.**

 **Well, here, I propose a different Snow White.***

The Misty Maiden.

Long ago, there lived a young princess with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. She was beautiful, more stunning than any other being. However, because of this beauty, her stepmother grew very jealous and went so far as to hire a huntsman to kill her. And though the huntsman did try, chasing the poor girl into the woods, he could not bring himself to harm an young, innocent girl. So, he left her in the woods with the intent on deceiving the Evil Queen.

Now, poor Snow White ran through the woods, fearful of all that was around her. However, no creature harmed her. Far from it, in fact. The woodland creatures guided her through the frightening woods until they came upon a small village. Snow White thanked the creatures and, without much hesitation, entered the village.

She was immediately accepted by the villagers, the families adopting her. She would play with all of the children and all was well. She all but forgot her home. That is, until she saw one mother severely scolding a child. Up until then, everything seemed perfect and everyone seemed so happy.

She never really found out what the child had done to deserve such a scolding, but she did notice that he was kept indoors for days. That didn't seem right to her. After that, she noticed it wasn't just one family, but many of them.

The children were very obviously not happy. Couldn't their parents see that? Didn't they understand?

Snow White pondered over that for days and days. Then, one day, she came to a conclusion: The parents were obviously not happy with something the children did and the children were quite obviously not happy at home. So, the solution was simple: If the children weren't there, everyone would be happy.

Without delay, she got to know the children a bit more and was soon able to coax them from their homes. In one night, all the children left to live with her.

When morning came, the parents were first angered that their children had snuck out in the night, then worried when none had returned. Days passed and still no sign of the children. Days turned to weeks and weeks to months, and still nothing.

Eventually, they had other children and, as the generations passed, the events became hardly more than an old story.

That is, until a young girl came to the village one day...


	2. Chapter 2

***So, when I went to ECCC 2015, my friend cosplayed as Snow White. She was perfect for it. Just absolutely amazing. The looks of awe and wonder that could be seen on the faces of children - it was amazing. Anyway, talking with her about that day made me think about Snow White as someone like the Pied Piper...***

 ****A bit of an update: As you can see, this is now the second chapter. The first is now a brief background to give some context for why things are as they are.****

"It's time to come in now, children!" called Emily from the doorway of an old wooden house. A mother of two, she was concerned for the children as the sun had begun to set.

"But it's still light out!" shouted little Becky, the youngest of the children at 6 years old.

Emily replied, her hands on her hips, "Not for much longer. You lot had best come in."

The window to the left of the door open and an older woman leaned out and said, "You don't want to be Stolen away now, do you?"

Emily sighed and whispered, "Not again with that, Mother."

Timothy, a boy of 8 years with an untamable mop of hair said, "That's just a story parents tell to scare us."

"Just a story?" repeated the woman incredulously. "Come inside, children, let me tell you about when I was your age. Then you can tell me if you still think it's just a story."

The children all exchanged glances and whispered comments, but all decided to join the two women in the house.

As they filed in, Emily lightly touched the top of each child's head, counting quietly. "One, two, three, four, five...and six."

The six children gathered inside and all sat around the older woman - who sat in a rocking chair in front of the fireplace, the wood still unlit. "Now, that's it, gather 'round," said the older woman. "Come close, you'll want to hear this."

"Then get on with it already," said Michael, a boy of 7 years with bright, red hair.

"Michael!" chided Emily. "You know better than to speak to your grandmother like that."

Michael looked down at the floor and wrung his hands together. "I'm sorry, Mother…" After a short moment, he said quietly, "Will you share with us, grandma?"

"Yes, yes, of course," replied the grandmother. "Just waiting on one more child. Emily, where is my dear granddaughter?"

"Claire is with her father." Emily offered nothing more.

"Ah, well.." the grandmother paused a moment before she returned her attention to the children. "Let's get started, shall we? Do you know the story of the maiden who steals away young children?"

The children nodded and Timothy said, "We've all heard the story."

"Well, then. Let me tell you a story you haven't heard before," began the grandmother. "When I was a little girl, I, too, was told the story of the maiden who would come and steal children away. Like you, I didn't believe it. None of us did.

"Now, every story has some truth and my grandmother told me of a young woman whom she had known when she was younger. That woman couldn't have been more than 16 years old and she was well-loved by all. She had short, wavy black hair, bright brown eyes and the most gorgeous smile. She was always willing to lend a hand and, one day, she disappeared. As did many of the children who had lived in the village. Of course, that was what my grandmother told me. It sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Again, the children nodded. "That's how the story goes, isn't it?" asked Becky. "A nice woman and children go missing and none are ever seen again."

The grandmother nodded, "Yes, that's what it's turned into nowadays. But let me tell you something that isn't in any story.

"As a little girl, I loved to play outside in the meadow. The meadow behind this house, actually. I was always picking flowers to make crowns and necklaces for whoever would accept them. One day, this beautiful, young woman was there. Having heard the stories, I hurried home to my parents. Although, it turned out the woman was living in the old cottage just on the other side of the meadow and had come to the village for supplies.

"Over the days that followed, I got to know her well. She would often play with all of us, when she wasn't helping the adults of course. She was from a couple villages to the north and had only just moved away from home looking for independence. Her parents had been so overbearing that she'd simply left. For a while, all the adults were worried that she wouldn't be able to provide for herself.

"That worry soon disappeared though. She was very beautiful and every available young man would offer her anything and everything. Many proposed to her, offering her the world."

"Did she get married?" asked Becky?

"You haven't told us her name," commented Michael at the same time."

The grandmother chuckled softly. "No, she didn't get married. Every man that offered, she turned down. She said she wasn't ready to settled down, but was flattered nonetheless." She turned to Michael and added, "And her name, oh, I forget. I believe it was Lumi. Let's see. What can I remember?

"She had short, black hair that was as soft as silk; eyes that always shined; a smile that could brighten any room; and a voice as heavenly as an angel's song. Her favorite outfit was this beautiful blue blouse and golden yellow skirt. Oh, it was so beautiful. She was beautiful."

"She doesn't sound real," said Michael. The other children nodded their agreement.

Emily, who had been sitting by the window staring out, said, "That's because -"

"Now, now, Emily. Don't go spoiling anything. Oh, but could you be a dear and light the fire. It's growing rather chilly."

Emily nodded. She tied her blonde hair up with a blue ribbon as she stood and walked to the fire. Kneeling down, she struck a match and carefully lit the dried brush that set on the stone beneath the wood. Once it looked like the wood would catch, she stood and walked to the kitchen to make dinner.

While she did that, Timothy asked, "So what happened?"

"Well," the grandmother continued, "she was well-loved and responsible. There were days when our parents would leave us with her for nearly the entire day. She'd play with us, feed us and teach us things. She could sing incredibly well and she'd teach us some days. We all loved to hear her sing. Not only did it sound amazing, but all sorts of animals would gather to listen, too.

"She stayed in that cottage for about 3 months. It felt like she'd been with us so much longer though. Then, one day, she disappeared. I remember that day well. I had been out with her and some friends, just playing in the meadow that afternoon. The sun was starting to set, but we were with her, so we thought we were safe. Our parents didn't mind much either, so long as we were with her. I had to return home though. I remember Lumi didn't want me to go. She said it would be dangerous, but we were having guests over and I couldn't be late. So, I returned home on my own and Lumi stayed in the meadow watching over the other 8 children.

"The next day, Lumi didn't come to the village and she wasn't in the cottage. The 8 children who had been with her also were missing. The adults were frantic. The children had returned home in the evening, but were gone again before the sun had risen. At first, they thought Lumi had simply taken them on a trip somewhere for the day and had forgotten to tell them...but days went by and neither Lumi nor those children returned…"

The children all exchanged a glance. "Is this a true story?" asked Michael.

"Of course, it is," replied the grandmother.

About then, Emily exited the kitchen and started setting plates of food on a rectangular table. Michael promptly asked her, "Mom, is it true?"

Emily glanced at her mother for a moment before answering, "I heard some of my friends parents say the same thing while I was growing up; so I suppose it could be true."

Timothy stood slowly. "Um...I should head home."

Emily shook her head. "Not alone. If you're mother hasn't come to pick you up after dinner, I'll take you home." Hands on her hips, she added, "The same goes for all of you. Now, dinner's on the table and there's plenty for all of you."

The children didn't need much urging and soon the six of them were seated at the table eating - after convincing them to wash up a little. Meanwhile, Emily had wandered back to the window. The sun had fully set and mist had already started rolling in from the sea.

"Waiting for Claire?" asked the grandmother.

Emily nodded slightly. "They're late."

"They're probably fine. Don't worry yourself so much."

Emily sighed, but didn't say anything. She couldn't help but worry about her daughter. Claire was 5 years old and had spent the day with her father, a man who was kind and caring, but he in no way knew how to provide for himself let alone a family.

Some time later, after the children had eaten dinner and everything had been tidied up, the 6 children were by the fireplace again. Two of the younger ones had all but fallen asleep and the others were whispering amongst themselves. Emily was just about to start taking the children home when there was a light knock on the door, so light that she almost thought she'd imagined it. Walking to the door, she opened it and was immediately greeted with a hug from a little girl with blonde pigtails. Looking down at the child, Emily said with a smile, "Where have you been all day, Claire?"

Claire smiled up at her mother. "Daddy took me all sorts of places. We went out on a lake somewhere and Daddy caught a huge fish." She frowned a little before continuing. "But then he lost it, so we went to a village to buy food. Then Daddy got lost when we were coming back here."

By then, Emily had knelt down to be level with her daughter. "Did he? How did you two get back then?"

Claire smiled and pointed out the door. "We met a nice lady. She was coming here, too, so she helped us."

Emily followed her daughter's finger and saw her husband talking with a young girl. Both of them were still walking toward the house. She stood and crossed her arms as she waited in the doorway for them. As soon as they neared, she said to her husband, "You're late."

He glanced away. "I know. I got a little turned around...but we made it back." He gestured to the girl next to him. "She was kind enough to help us find our way back."

The girl curtsied ever-so-slightly. "Hi, my name is Snow," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss." Snow had short, black hair, bright eyes and a smile that was just as bright. She also wore a blue blouse and long, yellow skirt, which the children - who had gathered just inside the door - had not failed to notice.

"It's nice to meet you, Snow. I'm sorry my husband inconvenienced you," replied Emily. She then turned to her husband, "Could you put Claire and Michael to bed? I'm going to take the other children home."

He nodded, knowing it was better not to argue.

Before Emily could round up the children, Snow said, "It's alright, I can take them home. After all, you have probably been busy all day."

Emily shook her head. "They're my responsibility." Turning slightly, she called inside, "Come along, it's time to go." As the children slowly gathered around her yawning, she said to Snow, "Now, you had best get yourself home, young lady. It's quite late."

With that, Emily left to take the 5 sleepy children home to their parents. Inside the house, the grandmother stared at Snow from the window, Claire in her lap while Michael was being put to bed - considering he'd already been all but asleep. She whispered quietly in disbelief, "Lumi?"

Claire stifled a yawn and cast a puzzled glance up at her grandmother. "Who's Lumi?", she asked.

The grandmother shook her head slightly, and said in hardly more than a whisper, "Someone I knew a very long time ago…"

 ***Depending on responses, I may flesh this out into a multi-chapter story. Otherwise, it will stay told as is - with the exception of editing for grammar and whatnot.***


End file.
